Discussion

Berkeley Angeline's dinner report

Angelines (in the old Long Life noodle location on Shattuck)was open for dinner.

Started with the barbecued shrip. Man, that sauce was good. Lots of BBQ sauce, so after finishing the shrimp, we used the accompanying slices of bread to sop up more sauce. Also had some pepper jack corn muffins. Very good, though not great.

Also had a shrimp po-boy and a cup of gumbo. The cup was very big and very savory. Had a big chunk of crab and sausage in it and a nice spiciness. Obviously there is a bottle of Tabasco if you need more heat.

I only had half of the po-boy since I was stuffed by now, but was also tasty. Similar to the La Bayou po-boy.

No room for dessert, but I noticed they had a Bananas Foster creme brulee.

A good choice for those downtown looking for another option for lunch or dinner.

Don't remember prices from other items (above prices are off my receipt)

My wife had most of the BBQ shrimp and cup of soup (can't remember what it was, but she finished it $3.75) and was full. The BBQ shrimp came with slices of bread for dipping in the sauce.

For us, this fits a nice niche between the very casual Cancun Tacqueria and the higher priced option of Downtown. The dining is casual, yet refined, if I can try to explain that paradox. Sorta like La Note? I will definitely go back for a bowl of Gumbo (was it $8ish?) before my Berkeley Rep.

My memory is often faulty, but the gumbo superior to La Bayou. La Bayou had more options with crawfish, but was not as pleasant for sitdown (I mostly did take-out).

Angelines also has a burger, which works for the kids. And kids would feel welcome here, though might be limited in choices. Maybe a mac & cheese dish for a future menu?

I've never been to New Oreans, so don't ask me if it's authentic. And maybe sometimes I wish for less authenticity from a place, since I'm not a big fan of hush puppies!

I had the gumbo for lunch yesterday and it was $10.95 for a large bowl with lots of shrimp, crawfish tails and pieces of Andouille. I didn't see any trace of crab. I think this was a file gumbo with some okra. The broth had depth of flavor, but didn't zing me like other gumbos have. It was tasty and I finished it all, but I'm reserving judgement. It did seem authentic, but then I haven't been in NO in ten years. It's not fair to judge a restaurant in the opening weeks.

The room was very pleasant and good jazz/blues was playing discretely in the background. Cajun/Creole is my favorite food, so I really want to see them do well. The proprietor is from Tennessee and the young chef from Baton Rouge. I plan to have a Muffuletta later in the week.

Long Life Noodle Co. is a local chain...they definitely still have a location in the Metreon in SF, and possibly others in downtown SF and Palo Alto. But the Berkeley location shut down about two years ago.